Chapter 1: Working Man

I'm working in a computer lab at a military base. I get a call from my Department Manager. I have to stop work and go out to the lobby to take the call. On my way to the lobby, I have to walk past the Lieutenant's office. She looks up and I wave hello.

I get out to the lobby and the guard hands me the telephone. I thank the guard and then say, "Hello, Jason here."

Rick, my DM says, "Jason, you're to come back to the main office, immediately."

I tell Rick, "I'll shut down the computer system, turn in the documents and load items, then I'll come in."

Rick, ass hole that he is, says, "Just get in here quick."

I just say, "On my way." I then hand the guard the telephone."

I stroll back toward my computer lab."

The Lieutenant is out in the hall, waiting for me. She says, "You're to report back to the main office?"

"Yes, I just got the order."

The Lieutenant says, "Jason, I didn't tell you, but we just canceled your company's contract."

I sigh, "I figured that was maybe the reason that my Department Manager called me in in the middle of Friday morning. Ah well, it's been fun."

The Lieutenant says, "Jason, we have been paying for two programmers, a hardware tech and a Project Manager. However, you're the only one that we ever see."

I laugh, "Sometimes they call me the lone ranger and I don't even get a faithful Indian companion."

The Lieutenant asks, "What happened to the faithful Indian companion?"

"One day he just asked, 'Whaddaya mean we, white man?' and that was the last I ever saw of him."

The Lieutenant sighs, "They just don't make faithful Indian companions like they used to. What are you gonna do now?"

"I have to look for another job, another paycheck, know of anything?"

The Lieutenant says, "I just might. We have to have what you're working on finished and then we'll have some more work. Interested?"

"By all means. I need a paycheck and I can finish the current job, with maybe just a little support from one of your hardware techs."

The Lieutenant says, "You do most of the routine maintenance yourself."

"I can do the simple stuff, but I'm gonna maybe need a hardware tech for the more complicated signal processor maintenance and I'm definitely gonna need a hardware tech for the signal processor operation, when we get to acceptance test."

The Lieutenant says, "Okay, I need your home telephone number and I need to talk to the CO. You should figure on coming back in Monday. By the way, this conversation never happened."

"Gotcha, mums the word, non-word I guess." I then give the Lieutenant my home phone number.

The Lieutenant goes back into her office and I go back to my computer lab.

I begin shutdown, delivering bits and pieces to the Librarian, as I wait for equipment to cycle down."

Katy grins as I turn in the first installment. She says, "You got the word?"

I grin back, "Not yet, not officially, but there's only one reason that they call me in, mid-morning on a Friday, when I'm already behind schedule here."

Katy says, "Well, I certainly haven't got the word, but I won't be surprised to see you again, come Monday."

I laugh, "Just call me Boomerang."

Katy says, "You gotta turn in all of the disks."

"Item by item, as they spin down."

Katy says, "I'll have Marsha come over and help with the totin'."

"Thanks, gonna speed things up."

I walk back to my lab and continue with the shutdown.

Marsha comes in and she takes a couple of disks.

I take a disk and a couple of other items and we walk back to the library. We turn the stuff in, I thank Marsha and I finish signing out for the library."

I walk out the front lobby, signing out there and I hop into my old truck. I fire up my little gas saving four cylinder and off I go. I drive back to the main office. I walk in past the deceptionist and ask Wendy, "How goes it?"

Wendy looks at me, grimaces and says, "Death and destruction."

"Ah, it's your turn to be little Miss Sunshine."

Wendy asks, "You heard?"

"Just to get my posterior back to the main office, right now."

Wendy makes a production out of looking both ways and then says, "When they give you your paycheck, cash it quick!"

I follow suit and say, "It's so bad that they're even gonna fire the people who do no work?"

Wendy nods yes and says, "Death and destruction."

I wave and walk into my department area.

Jerry waits there. "You heard the news?"

Rick told me to come in, he didn't say why.",

Jerry sneers at me, "You're about to find out."

I just nod and walk to my desk. I slip my nameplate into my inside jacket pocket, my little calculator into another pocket and the snack machine change into my pants pocket. I then walk over to Rick's Secretary, Dana, and say, "Rick called me in."

Dana looks at me and says, "He has a couple of people ahead of you, you'll have to wait."

I say, "I'll wait." I walk into the break room, intent on one last cup of tea, on the company, but the cupboard is bare. I get a soda, from the machine, instead.

Molly ambushes me on my way out of the break room. She asks, "Jason, do you know what's happening?"

I sigh, "I'm a bit behind schedule on the project work. I figured there's really only one reason that my Department Manager calls me in, in the middle of Friday morning. Ah well, in any case, it's been fun."

Molly says, "They say that it's going to be a mass layoff."

I nod and say, "I haven't heard, but I keep my resume up to date and shined up. If I have to start a job search, I'm as ready as I can be."

Molly says, "You know, I just moved here. I kinda spent my reserve. I don't know what I'm gonna do."

I look at Molly, who's one hot looking babe. I say, "Well, we might be able to work something out. I have a place."

Molly says, "Well, I'm not exactly destitute. I can get temp work, if I have to."

I say, "Look, if we get separated, I'm in the book. If it is indeed a layoff, I'll be home tonight, printing out my resume and checking the want ads."

Molly asks, "You're not scared?"

I sigh, "I have a little bit of a reserve and I have been through this before. While I wait for Rick, I'm gonna call some programmers that I know, get things started."

Molly says, "Yeah, I don't have a network here, yet."

I tell her, "Don't panic and keep in touch." I give her my home number and say, "I'm also in the book." I then go back to my desk and call a few of my programmer buddies. I tell them that the rumor mill says that I might be looking for a job by end of day. No one has anything specific, but they do know that I'm likely looking. (A lot of people will do almost anything to keep from telling people that they got laid off. If no one knows that you need help, you aint gonna get help. Even if they know, it doesn't mean that you'll get help, but at least there's a chance.)

I then get told by Rick's Secretary, that my time has come. I walk into Ricks office and he says, "Jason, I'm gonna have to lay you off. You didn't finish your project on time."

I look the ass hole in the eyes and say, "Rick, I did finish my part of the project, on time. Then, after I finished, I was assigned the work that was supposed to have been done by another programmer. As far as I have been able to find out, the other guy never did a design document or a single line of code. That's the work that I was trying to finish up."

Rick sneers, "You're just full of excuses, aren't you?"

"I'm just telling it like it is. If the other boy had finished his work, we would at least be in customer test by now."

Rick sneers, "Well, I'm not going to be able to give you much of a work recommendation."

"Who's going to do the work on the project, after I leave?"

Rick sneers, "That's none of your business."

"It might be very much my business. You have no one else, currently on staff, who can pick up the work and finish it in some reasonable time. I might wind up working for another outfit, at the same military base. If your boy drops the ball, well, I think that you can see what might happen."

Rick leans back and views me like some kind of insect. "What are you going to tell people, about my staff?"

"Nothing, unless I'm directly asked. If I'm directly asked, all I'm going to tell them is that I never saw programmer boy, nor hardware boy do any work on the project. I also never saw Project Manager girl out at the base, after her initial visit. Not opinion, just fact."

Rick tells me, "That would hurt this company."

"I have no desire to hurt your company. I do have to answer questions put to me by a prospective employer, if I'm to get another job, another paycheck. I also have to answer the questions truthfully, since the people asking the questions will almost certainly check with the people at the base. If I lie, I die."

Rick asks, "What are you going to tell them about me?"

"You effectively managed my project. The Project Manager never really talked with me, so my inputs were basically all from you."

Rick asks, "What do you think that I should have done?"

"I think that you should have gotten your people, who were charging to the project, to do the work that they were supposed to do."

Rick asks me, "That's what you're going to tell people?"

"Only if I'm asked, and that only if I'm asked by someone evaluating me for a job. What would you have me say?"

Rick thinks for a few moments and then says, "I guess that I maybe got too wrapped up in people's personal problems."

(Suddenly a Vice President walks into the room. The VP looks at me, as if I'm maybe some sort of large, unclean insect. He asks Rick, "Has he been notified?")

Rick says, "Yes, I just told him."

The VP then turns and tells me, "You can then leave and process out in Personnel."

I just get up and leave, with no further words. I walk to Personnel and tell them, "I have just been laid off, I need to process out." I'm given paperwork by the Personnel people and I start to fill out the required documents.